Over time I will try to post this in its entirety. Jim Perry wrote a 22 page yarn about Grandpa that I have enjoyed over the years. Immediately after service Brother Edgar A. Jones, Lay Leader and Chairman of the Board of Stewards has called a meeting of the Board. A titter ran through the congregation of the Barnwell Methodist Church in the town of Barnwell (population 3,000), SC. Everyone smiled except Rev. L.Z.B.Evereton, conducting his first service-his face was flushed as he realized he had called the Lay Leader by the wrong name, and rather hurriedly said: I want to apologize to Brother Brown for referring to him as Brother Jones. Whereupon, Brother Brown, always on his toes in church as well as politics, arose and replied: You need not apologize for calling me Jones, Ive been called worse names than that. Ad he has - and is. Many names have been applied the the Hon. Edgar A. Brow, Senator from Barnwell County for the (then) last 20 years and currently Pres. Pro Tem of the Senate and its senior member in point of service; Chairman of its powerful finance committee, where he keeps an eye on every penny appropriated by the state; ranking member of the Budget Commission (passing on all request for increased appropriates, inclusive of all salaries of state employees, etc.). He serves here with the Governor and Chair of the Ways and Means Committee and since all decisions must be unanimous, the power of veto on state spending is his; ranking member of the State Sinking Fund Commission which handles all state property, investments and fire insurance. He is only one of six members but in any sized group he can talk himself into the lead; ranking member of the SC Retirement System- he retires em as well as gives them their pay; Chairman and General Counsel of Clarks Hill Authority of SC, a 45 million dollar power project on the Savannah river- a few jobs her for the boys; member of Board of Trustees of our Mechanical and Agricultural College (Clemson)- and that college has suffered no pain by reason of its official connection wit Brown, and if you dont believe this- ask anyone connected with the other state colleges; usually runs the democratic party in his county and state; and is President of the SC State Bar Association. These are some of his official positions and o one could compile a list of those which he holds unofficially and by working through others. And a guy like Brown, with all his jobs, is entitled to a few names; however, some of them are misnomers. He is most widely known as the Bishop of Barnwell- and he controls his county and the State of South Carolina tighter than a Bishop ever ruled a diocese. And heres how he got the name of Bishop. In 1928, Edgar was the baby senator but he had served three terms in the House, one as Speaker, and was not exactly in swaddling clothes. The late John G. Richards was our governor, a most pious Presbyterian but hell bent on getting the state out of the mud by way of a bond issue for roads- felt predestined to do it, I reckon. One Cip Jones, whose name should have been Trader Jones, was Chair of the Highway Commission. So the state was all set: Cip was to work out the road program; Brown was to handle the legislative deals (which under such circumstances aint nothing in Gods world but swapping roads for voters where theyll do the most good and by-passing those boys youve got licked); and the governor (Churchly John) to throw all the weight of his office to bring the opposition to heel. Of course, some snags were to be encountered for one Olin D. Johnston was a member of the House and opposed to the program on the grounds that it would cost his cotton mill boys too much- Olin carried about 50,000 of these votes around in his vest pocket. Frequently, the Governor would have to send Cip for Brown ( the leader upstairs in the Legislature). And any proposition put to Brown by the other two legs of the triangle was always ended by Brown saying: All right, Governor, Ill give the matter prayerful consideration. And he used the expression so often that finally the governor used to say Cip, get the Bishop down her and the name has stuck. But Brown ought to be more than a Bishop for the final round of the program was handled so adroitly that he could have been a Cardinal- a Richelieu. The legislature voted a bond issue of 65 million for roads. - this would take us out of the mud and then some. The Bishop claimed it would take us all the way up to Saint Peter. But one more hurdle remained and the opposition knew that it could not be jumped. Our Constitution says that you cant place a debt of the people without a general election. The Bond Act pledged everything the people owned to the payment of bonds and they only knew what was printed in the papers and what they heard Olin Johnston shout from the dome of the State House. And so, to our Supreme Court went the Act and no reputable lawyer thought it had a chance of being approved. But we didnt know the Bishop as well thne- he was a young man- as we do now. The Bishop and his followers convinced the Court that, while the credit o the state and all property therein was pledged to the retirement of bonds and payment of interest thereon, the revenue from the sale of gasoline would be sufficient to pay off. Well, Perry, give the devil his dues. We got the roads- we think we are the best in the United States- the debt has been taken care of (as well as some friends) but never has any charge of embezzlement been made against the boys handling the money. And if the Bishop is this good, it ought to be worthwhile seeing how he got that way.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:55:28 +0000
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